


A second and an eternity

by peafowling



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/M, Love Triangles, Other Ships Not Mentioned in Tags, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-04
Updated: 2020-06-04
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:21:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24532210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peafowling/pseuds/peafowling
Summary: After the war had ended, Byleth summoned Lorenz to the Goddess Tower.
Relationships: Lorenz Hellman Gloucester/My Unit | Byleth
Comments: 1
Kudos: 20





	A second and an eternity

**Author's Note:**

> I love Lorenz. I foolishly romanced Claude in my third playthrough for variety's sake. Then I felt guilty. Hence, this.

Lorenz slowed his steps as he finally approached the port to the Goddess Tower. He inhaled to compose himself, then pulled a comb through his hair, should it have been fretted from his haste up the stairs. He gave a knock before entering, and there she was, brilliant and modest at once, her face as ever a blank canvas which need not be painted.

“I admit I am dismayed you beat me to it,” he said as he strode into the room, his polite smile threatening to turn too genuine, as he stopped at a respectable distance from her. “I had just thought to, for once, be the one to summon you.”

Though it was also a great embarrassment, it was not without some nostalgia he would recall the many times when she, as his professor, sent for him to attend her office.

Byleth smiled, matronly, despite her young age.

“Have you been causing trouble lately?” she asked.

“I should hope not,” Lorenz replied, hoping to steer the conversation from his past folly. He remarked that Byleth stood not as proudly as he should like her, and he knew her still face well enough to detect the subtle sadness therein.

“Is something the matter?” he asked, as he held himself back from swooping in to grasp her hand in a show of support.

Slowly, she turned her face from his, casting a glance over her shoulder towards the balcony.

“Claude left.”

“What!”

Lorenz stalked towards the balcony as if Claude had just jumped off it, caught by his wyvern no doubt, but as he grasped the stone railing and peered at the horizon there was no sight of the man who ought to be the leader of the new Fódlan nation.

Byleth followed him out onto the perch, holding her left arm as she too gazed at the horizon.

“Business in his home country,” she stated, her tone flat, even for her. She cocked her head to the side, thoughtfully, as if she were just recalling what came next.

“And he said that he would leave Fódlan to me.”

Lorenz’ eyes widened, taking in what she was saying. Claude had not just effectively dispersed the Leicester Alliance, but abdicated all of Fódlan. Even for an impossible man such as him, a move like that was simply inconceivable. And the person that he wanted to lead…

The once warm, final rays of the setting sun were upon them.

“This is beyond anything I could conceive of,” Byleth confessed. “And so my first thought went to you.

“Lorenz… would you like to carry this burden in my stead?”

Her eyes weren’t pleading, nay, they were simply unsure. For as long as he had known her, she had always possessed a strange confidence and charisma, and so it was not that she lacked faith in herself – this was not a look that suited her. How Lorenz wished to duel Claude for having reduced her to this state – but that was a battle for another time, and a long time coming to boot.

For now, all he could do was to bow to the woman far more regal and holy than any other candidate in these lands – and dead or alive, he had met them all.

“Would the proposed regent be anyone but yourself, know that I would gladly accept the crown. As so happens, even if it is just this once, I would agree with Claude’s judgement. There is none more fitting to rule this land fairly, for the good of all, towards an era of stability and faith restored, than you.”

Peeking up at her reaction with one eye open, he was blessed by the sight of a humble blush across her fine features.

“Very well,” she acquiesced, as he rose. “Then, would you at least agree to be my advisor? Until you must succeed your father, I implore you to help me out with the details of running a court.”

“Naturally, you will find no one more qualified for such a task than yours truly. Your choice alone speaks to your suitability for this role,” Lorenz praised.

He was seized with joy at the prospect. For a chance to effect Fódlan’s future, to restore a nobility which would act nobly, to rebuild all that had been lost in war and offer the common folk hope and aspirations – and to do it all side by side with her.

Radiant as only a goddess could be. Byleth smiled to him, and his heart beat loud and clear, and he was reminded of the reason he had wanted to seek her out in the first place – why he had felt it so pressing to reach her here, in this place, with just the two of them present.

“Thank you, Lorenz,” she said. When she’d cocked her head to the side, some strands of her lovely hair had come loose – she stroke them behind her ear, as he’d often seen her do when she did not seem to think anyone noticed.

It was with this sight that the chill of night finally swept over them, as the last of the sun illuminated the gemstone of the unknown ring around Byleth’s finger.

Humiliatingly, his shock must have shown before he had the courtesy to hide it, for Byleth quickly dropped her hand, letting the loose sleeve of her jacket hide it away.

She was not someone to break the silence, even when her discomfort was evident. No one should ever be able to accuse Lorenz Hellman Gloucester of being so poorly raised that he should let a lady suffer such indignity.

“It would seem Claude left behind a little more than just a promise of a unified kingdom,” he commented, without spite nor scorn, nor any emotion ugly and crude.

With a huff, as if having been caught entrapped, Byleth’s stature at long last relaxed.

“I am not sure if you mean me or the ring,” she accused. Before he could defend himself she continued: “Perhaps both are true. But if he wants either back, he must return to claim them.”

Indeed, Lorenz thought, holding in his desire to scoff. Ever such an incorrigible man, doing whatever it was he himself wanted, a free spirit forced into noble roleplay, willing, and more dangerously _able_ , to drag anyone else down with him.

Lorenz should have known that not even Byleth would be immune to Claude’s charms – when he himself had, on occasion, succumbed to them.

“For all his flaws, we know disloyalty is not one of them,” Lorenz said. “He will return to your side, of that I have no doubt.”

The pain in his chest as he admitted this was not eased by the way he saw her ever so slightly stroke the ring in quiet agreement.

“Speaking of…” Byleth said, and Lorenz had to look at her face once more. “The war is over now. Will you finally resume your quest?”

The weight in his inner pocket was suddenly made heavier, but it was not something he could not carry.

“In fact, during the war, I realised that there was already someone beside me,” he admitted. “Though I have yet to have the opportunity to properly court her.”

He would do well to not read into her expression as she studied him – there was no sadness there, least it be for Claude’s absence.

“I thought as much,” Byleth said, evading her gaze with a sudden sly look befitting her fiancé. “And I would of course be happy to have Marianne at court with us as well.”

A second and an eternity passed.

“Am I truly that predictable?” Lorenz blurted, indignant but not insincere. He felt strongly for Marianne, it was true – a gentle and caring soul unlike anyone else, an unappreciated beauty he knew would make him a lucky man to have by his side, contrary to all her past, strange illusions to the contrary.

Perhaps the ring he had dared to request from his father, even after his act of disobedience, would suit her. And no doubt Margrave Edmund would be pleased with the pairing of his adopted daughter with a more esteemed, old house such as the Gloucester – it would elevate his status even within this new coalition formed on Fódlan’s ruins. It would be a beneficial and logical marriage for all parts, and even overlooking those details, the fact remained that Lorenz had always enjoyed Marianne’s graceful companionship, her timid manners and rare smiles, reserved for a select, privileged few, and he knew that he could and would certainly make her a happy wife.

But during the war thoughts like these, once second nature to his pursuit, of political benefits and fitness, had all been put on hold. Indeed he had spent the campaign blinded by a dazzling light, and he had reached for the sun.

How shameful it was that he had disregarded that whenever he saw her seated upon her pegasus, circling the battlefield in a ring of protection, a white wyvern would always soar by her side. Because it had not blotted out the light, he had been able to ignore it. The fault lay with him, and his narrow mindedness.

With these solemn thoughts Lorenz smiled, to alleviate Byleth’s many burdens.

“My, it is getting late,” he was forced to concede. Yes, he must accept, for he was no scoundrel – it was too late for them both. “We must speak again soon, for there is so much to discuss, but for tonight, I shall trouble you no further.”

After he’d turned, after too curt a bow, Byleth spoke.

“You’re right. I feel… No.”

Lorenz had never knew her to speak of her feelings aloud, so her hesitance, then retraction, was true to her character. He would do well not to wish for something else.

“You always really are so considerate,” she continued. "I had my doubts, but I feel better now after speaking with you. Thank you, Lorenz.”

What those doubts were, Lorenz was hesitant to ask. It would not make a difference to know them.

“Naturally,” he returned, looking back at her. “Know you can always call upon me, should you need counsel.”

He was not so selfish as to leave her side, now or, indeed should she allow it, ever. Even though the sun had set behind her, standing in front of the balcony, she seemed to glow from within, lovely and radiant and engaged. Before long he would swear a pledge to always be truthful with her, to give his best counsel, be free of bias and any distracting, disgraceful thoughts.

He just needed a second.


End file.
